It’s the hope that kills you; Tame City fall short in Madrid

Manchester City bowed out of the Champions League at the semi-final stage after a tame performance against Real Madrid. Zinedine Zidane’s Madrid outfit won 1-0 on the night – sealing the same aggregate score – to progress through to the final in Milan. It was a game that demonstrated both the significant gulf in class between the two sides, as well as the fine margins that can decide matches at this level.

Madrid were boosted by the return to fitness of star man Cristiano Ronaldo. The talismanic Portuguese had missed the first leg through injury and City had subsequently dealt with the Madrid offensive with ease. His involvement at the Bernabéu was always going to make things a little trickier, but City had the advantage of only needing one away goal to force Madrid into a dangerous game of gung-ho attacking that could have left them exposed at the back.

Manuel Pellegrini’s Blues had a reasonable opening ten minutes in which they kept hold of the ball and probed without finding an opening - there was nothing to be scared of at that point. However, things took a dreadful turn for the away side when captain Vincent Kompany went down injured and had to be replaced; the sight of the distraught Belgian hobbling off down the tunnel has become all too familiar. One can’t help but wonder if incoming manager Pep Guardiola will now consider the centre-back too unreliable and make plans for a new era without him.

Eliaquim Mangala replaced the skipper to partner Nicolas Otamendi in defence; the team were visibly rocked by the enforced change as the home side began to take control. Once they had their foothold, Madrid never let go of it.

Before looking at what City did wrong, it must be said that Madrid were magnificent. Their victory was hard earned and City were powerless against such an awesome opponent. It is true to say that Toni Kroos, Isco, Gareth Bale and Luka Modric were simply too good for City’s midfield. They were sharp and intelligent, barely allowing a Blue shirt to get close to the ball. They were smart in their use of the ball, always in space, always moving and pulling defenders and midfielders out of position – it’s what clever players do.

By comparison, City were the exact opposite. They were slow to press, the midfield did not work as a unit to hunt the ball down and they were poor in possession. Yaya Toure will take a lot of criticism for his performance but it will be nothing more than scapegoating. The Ivorian was poor, but he was the one visiting player constantly finding himself in space and receiving the ball most often. The fact is that he not able of lifting an entire team like he used too, rendering him somewhat redundant in big games now. It was not laziness or lack of effort that saw the dull flame of a once great midfielder finally blown out, as some of the more disparaging comments would have you believe. No, time has just caught up with him a little quicker than we would have liked, the dying embers of a great career fading quickly before our eyes. How fortunate we are to have seen him burn so bright for so long.

The most concerning element of City’s performance is that they did not seem to have a plan. It might have been that they were looking to soak up pressure and hit Madrid on the counter, but it quickly became apparent that this would not work. Sergio Agüero was isolated up front, resulting in him dropping deeper as the game progressed and becoming more ineffective as a result. Without a clear and disciplined focal point, counter attacking can’t work. City did not have the organisation or clear plan to pull it off.

They were wasteful in possession too. Too often they won the ball, only to hand it back to the home side within two passes. Kevin De Bruyne was singled out for his particular disappointing decision making and distribution, but to highlight single players is to miss the point. This was a collective failing; lack of movement, lack of understanding of how to open up space against a team that press well with intensity and lack of cohesive work were what did for City in the end.

Despite the vast gulf in intelligence and class, the tie was still settled by the finest of margins. The winning goal was originally credited to Gareth Bale but, on closer inspection, it was shown to have deflected off Fernando who was attempting to block the ball. That caused it to loop over Joe Hart and go in off the inside of the post. That was in the 20th minute. Without that flick off the Brazilian, the score would have remained deadlocked for a while longer.

Late in the first half, City had their best chance of the whole tie but Fernandinho could only hit the post. In stoppage time, Agüero whistled a long range shot over Keylor Navas, landing it just on top of the goal. A touch lower would have seen City through. Beaten by a single deflected goal over two legs; these are fine margins.

The truth is that City will have regrets, despite Pellegrini’s assertions otherwise. They did not take enough risks, they did not plan well and they played inhibited, crushed by the weight of their own mediocrity as much as by the occasion. It’s been a good run, but this is perhaps the most fitting testimony to Pellegrini’s City tenure. It was fantastic for a while, but it could have been better.

Overall, the 2015/16 campaign has seen a marked improvement in Europe for the Blues; The beaten semi-finalists had not previously progressed past the last 16. The dream of their first final felt like a tangible reality for a while but in the end it was a case of being so close, yet so far away.

As the game drifted into the last ten minutes with City needing just one goal to turn the tie on it’s head, but looking less likely to do it with every passing second, I was reminded of the great John Cleese line from Clockwise. “It’s not the despair, I can take the despair. It’s the hope I can’t stand.” Was ever a truer word spoken?